Cost of Living Crisis Greater Manchester Funding Programme (UK)

Deadline: 13-Jan-23

Are you a voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE) organisation with an annual income between £50,000 and £250,000 based and working in one of the ten localities of Greater Manchester? Does your organisation regularly support people most affected by social inequalities and that are struggling to cope with the worst of the cost of living crisis? If your answers to the above questions are YES then you may be eligible for this programme.

Funding Information

• Applications for exactly £5000 are invited.

What they can fund

• All funded activity must take place within one locality of Greater Manchester and you must fully complete it and have completed a monitoring form no later than 31 October 2023.
• They are deliberately not providing examples of the kinds of activities VCSE groups need to be providing to struggling communities. They want you to tell us what it is that you do that achieves the best outcomes for end beneficiaries.
• Any kind of usual organisation costs can be included in your grant application as long as your activities centre on the support of communities that are struggling the most. Costs can include salaries, expenses, overheads, consumables, equipment, administration, training, communications, etc.
• The grant application form will ask you to summarise the costs you need most help with to keep providing your services.
• Please be realistic and thorough in estimating your eligible costs as the external panel will be looking at this when assessing your application. Where possible you should base your proposed costs on actual previous amounts disbursed.
• Successful applicants must keep full records of all costs funded by this programme. However, they will not ask you to provide evidence of expenditure unless adverse issues emerge in the delivery of your funded activities.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only VCSE organisations are eligible to apply, e.g.
  • Charitable Incorporated Organisations
  • Community Benefit Societies
  • Community Interest Companies
  • Companies Limited by Guarantee
  • Registered Charities
  • Organisations that are not constituted
  • Unincorporated Associations
• You must be based and operating in one of the ten localities of Greater Manchester, i.e.
  • Bolton
  • Bury
  • Manchester
  • Oldham
  • Rochdale
  • Salford
  • Stockport
  • Tameside
  • Trafford
  • Wigan
• Grants are available to help fund the costs of your existing activities in that area of Greater Manchester. Unfortunately, they are not able to fund activity across localities or outside Greater Manchester.
• The turnover limit for eligible organisations is £50,000 to £250,000.
• The 2021 Greater Manchester State of the VCSE Sector report identifies organisations within the income bracket as amongst those needing greatest levels of investment to maintain activities.
• Organisations with annual turnovers greater or less than £50,000 to £250,000 are ineligible to apply. (Within the city of Manchester Macc is developing smaller funding opportunities for micro organisations.)
• Your organisation must already provide support activities to vulnerable communities of people in your locality most affected by social inequalities who are struggling to cope with the worst of the cost of living crisis.
• People that are the most adversely affected by the cost of living crisis may include:
  • Households, families and individuals with low incomes
  • Older or younger people
  • Users of foodbanks
  • People with chronic long-term health issues including disabled people
  • Unpaid carers
  • People from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnicities
  • People who are long-term unemployed or experiencing insecure employment or worklessness
  • Homeless people
  • People who are refugees
  • Or any combination of these or other circumstances.

Requirements

• The key eligibility requirements are:
  • Organisations must have an annual turnover between £50,000 and £250,000 and be based and operating in one of the ten localities of Greater Manchester
  • Organisations must already be delivering support activities within the chosen locality to people who tend to be most affected by social inequality and the cost of living crisis
  • New project activities are not required, this funding aims to help sustain anti-poverty organisations that are themselves struggling to keep operating
  • Any typical organisation costs can be included in your grant application, e.g. salaries, expenses, overheads, consumables, equipment, administration, training, communications, etc.
  • You must plan to have fully spent your grant by no later than October 2023

For more information, visit Cost of Living Crisis.

For more information, visit https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/cost-living-crisis-greater-manchester-funding-programme